Kansas Second Amendment Preservation Act Moves Closer To Becoming Law

I must admit that it seems silly to me that the law of the land, and I’m specifically referencing the Second Amendment, has to have another law in place to preserve it. However, in the days we live I’m glad to see that states are stepping up and taking the Tenth Amendment to heart against an overreaching, tyrannical government. One such state is Kansas. Their Second Amendment Preservation Act, also known as HB2199, has moved one step closer to the desk of Governor Sam Brownback (R-KS).

Yesterday the Kansas State Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs passed the bill by a voice vote.

By a vote of 94-29, the State House passed the bill that, if signed into law, would nullify a wide range of federal legislative attacks on the right to keep and bear arms in the State of Kansas.

In part the legislation states:

Any act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the government of the United States which violates the second amendment to the constitution of the United States is null, void and unenforceable in the state of Kansas.

The above is quoted from Section 6a of the bill. The bill goes on to define what is meant by “the second amendment to the constitution of the United States.”

The second amendment to the constitution of the United States reserves to the people, individually, the right to keep and bear arms as that right was understood at the time that Kansas was admitted to statehood in 1861, and the guaranty of that right is a matter of contract between the state and people of Kansas and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Kansas in 1859 and the United States in 1861.

This ultimately means that state and local officials would not be allowed to enforce or support any federal legislation regarding firearms. This would make it nearly impossible for Federal gun control laws to be enforced, but I caution that we should still seek to repeal them for the sake of future generations.

The Tenth Amendment Center also points out that HB2199 could also be a potential jobs bill. They cite the specific language from the Firearms Freedom Acts passed by various states since 2009, which are contained in HB2199.

A personal firearm, a firearm accessory or ammunition that manufactured commercially or privately and owned in Kansas and that remains within the borders of Kansas is not subject to any federal law, treaty, federal regulation, or federal executive action, including any federal firearm or ammunition registration program, under the authority of congress to regulate interstate commerce. It is declared by the legislature that those items have not traveled in interstate commerce.

Such protection for the manufacture of firearms, accessories and ammunition could be an incentive for well-known manufacturers in New York or Maryland, for example, that are feeling the pressure of gun control advocates in those state legislatures. Encouraging businesses to relocate to Kansas is what some supporters says is “just what’s needed in a time of economic difficulty.”

The legislation takes this “jobs promotion” part of the potential law seriously. It would protect manufacturers who move to Kansas by providing for criminal charges on federal agents who attempt to violate the state law.

It is unlawful for any official, agent or employee of the government of the United States, or employee of a corporation providing services to the government of the United States to enforce or attempt to enforce any act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the government of the United States upon a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately and owned in the state of Kansas and that remains within the borders of Kansas. Violation of this section is a severity level 10 nonperson felony.